Palliative care provides comfort and quality-of-life care for individuals living with life-limiting illness.
Palliative care:
- Aims to achieve the best quality of life for individuals and their families facing life-limiting or end of life issues
- Treatment focus is pain and symptom management
- Seeks to address a person’s physical, psychological, social and spiritual needs
- Does not hasten or delay death
Palliative care consultation
The specialized palliative care consult team provides care to individuals and their families, coping with end-of-life issues.
The team addresses physical, emotional and spiritual needs in order to relieve suffering and improve quality of life.
Services can be provided at home, in hospital, at a long-term care facility or in hospice. It can include grief and bereavement counselling, equipment and supplies in the home, and access to a hospice or a palliative complex care unit.
Support is extended to family members.
Eligibility
- To receive palliative care services, a person:
- Is 19 years or older
- Has a life expectancy of less than a year
- Is experiencing problems associated with a life-limiting illness or facing end-of-life issues
- Agrees to palliative care services
- Understands their treatment focuses on quality of life and not prolongation of life